History of Orders of Chivalry: a Survey

Contents

1) 1100 to 1291: the military-monastic orders:
The Crusades provided the conditions for the emergence of a new institution
combining elements of monasticism with elements of chivalry. It was soon
imitated in Spain and in Eastern Europe.

2) 1335 to 1470: the monarchical orders
of chivalry:
In partial imitation of the monastic orders, kings created institutions
designed to reward and bind subjects to them. Also, at the same time a
wide variety of associations came into being, which are classified here.

3) 1560 to present: Honorific Orders :
The emergence of centralized states made monarchical orders unnecessary,
and they turned into honorific orders, rewarding past behavior or conferring
distinction rather than encouraging future loyalty. New honorific orders,
many without nobiliary requirement, start multiplying from 1693.

Introduction

Orders of Chivalry are, primarily, a historical phenomenon peculiar
to Western European Christendom of the Middle Ages. It is in that context
that they are most easily defined and understood.

An Order of Chivalry is a certain type of institution. In the
category of orders of chivalry, a number of institutions have been placed
over time. One can distinguish several phases in the history of that type
of institution. The original form, during the Crusades, deserved its name
of order, since it consisted of individuals bound together by a permanent
religious rule of behavior. After the Crusades were over, in the 14th c.,
monarchs used the trappings of these orders to create a new institution
to serve their purpose of binding vassals to their person. After the Renaissance,
the old monarchical orders (and some monastic orders) became purely honorific orders,
and other honorific orders were created, once more using the trappings
of orders of chivalry.

As a result, we have today such disparate institutions as the Order
of Malta, The Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Garter, the Golden Fleece
(one of the two, at any rate), Bath, Calatrava, all using the name "order
of chivalry" or "order of knighthood" even though they are
all very different organizations in history, form and purpose.

1100 to 1350: The Military-Monastic Orders

Origins

Orders of chivalry first appear in the context of Western Europe's military
activities against non-Christian populations and states. Starting in the
11th century, Western Europe went into an aggressive expansionary phase,
leading it into conflict with non-Christian populations on two fronts:
in Spain and in the Middle East. These wars were engaged in for a variety
of motives, but they were, at least in some respects, religious wars. The
first orders of chivalry inherit this dual aspect, religious and military.

The first orders of chivalry were associations of individuals, committing
themselves to certain goals and regulated activities. The commitment typically
took the form of vows, and the regulation of activities took the form of
a Rule and an institutional structure defined by statutes and managed by
officers. Thus, orders of chivalry were religious orders, in the same sense
that purely religious or monastic orders were created at the same time
(Carthusians, Cistercians, Franciscans, Dominicans, etc). The goals were
both the sanctification of their members through their devotional and charitable
activities, as well as participation in the fight against the "Infidels",
either by protecting pilgrims or actively taking part in defensive or offensive
military operations.

A lot has been written about the origins of this new institution. As
with heraldry, it seems difficult for some to accept that Western Europe
could invent anything on its own; but, as in the case of heraldry, no convincing
evidence has ever been adduced to show that orders of chivalry were an
imported concept. Rather, this institution must be seen in the context
of the 11th century, when monks and clerics were trying to establish a
code of conduct for the new professional class of knights by turning them
into "soldiers of Christ." During the Crusades, where religious
fervor was at its peak and military skills at a premium, it was natural
that these religious and military components fused into the military-monastic
orders.

The first orders of chivalry in the Middle East (Templars founded
as a military order ca. 1119, Saint-John
ca. 1080, militarized ca. Saint
Lazarus ca. 1100, Teutonic Knights founded ca. 1190) were
all created by private initiatives, as were the Orders in the Iberic peninsula
(Avis in 1143, Alcantara in 1156, Calatrava in 1158,
Santiago in 1164) created in imitation of the orders in the Holy
Land. They typically saw their statutes confirmed or recognized by the
Pope after a few years.

Organization

Orders of chivalry, like the Church in general, were recipients of many
donations, often in the form of land (e.g., a lord would become a knight
and give his possessions to his order). Quickly, the orders became large
landowners throughout Western Europe, far from their center of activity.
As a result, structures were created to manage these estates which had
been entrusted to them: these estates became known as commendatoriae
(cf. the English verb "to commend") and their managers commendatores.
Only later was the word corrupted into commander, which gives it a semblance
of military rank which it never was.

As religious orders, these institutions naturally fell under the authority
of the Pope, who typically approved the statutes of the order and thereby
gave it a form of official recognition. In practice, the orders managed
their own affairs, but in times of crises or uncertainty, the pope could
and often did intervene directly, either by abolishing an order, merging
it with another order (which usually came down to a transfer of assets
to the other order), reforming its statutes, appointing a grand-master,
etc. The large degree of autonomy that the orders had enjoyed for long
periods of time sometimes led them to resent such outside interference.
However, only the Order of Saint-John and the Teutonic Order ever gained
enough independence and territorial sovereignty to be thought of as "sovereign
orders", and in both cases this only happened after the 14th century.
It should be kept in mind that the military-monastic orders were, before
all, religious orders. They owned land in various countries, their membership
was international, and they managed their own affairs, but so did the Benedictines
and the Jesuits, and no one ever calls them "sovereign".

The military aspect of these monastic orders explains why they are called
Orders of Chivalry. Fighting was a professional activities, and
professionals were called knights. Entrance into the social-professional
category of knighthood entailed a number of religious rituals which made
the idea of a monk-knight only an extension of the general idea of knight.
The orders simply recruited individuals who had attained, or could attain,
the status of knight. This connection became even stronger as time passed
and knighthood became romanticized even as it was losing its professional
aspect.

I call these orders military-monastic, to emphasize their dual
nature, which sets them apart from any other organization of the time.
While it may appear difficult for modern-day Christians to understand how
one could sanctify oneself by killing, this notion did not seem shocking
in a time which took the expression milites Christi quite literally.
Some orders, however, did separate the tasks, and had fighting knights
alongside praying chaplains (e.g., the Order of
Saint-John). In fact, these orders reflected in their structure (chaplains,
knights, sergeants) the Three Orders of feudal society (clergy, nobility
and third estate).

At this point, then, orders of chivalry are an association of individuals,
typically members of the knightly class, committing themselves through
solemn vows to obey the rules and statutes of a religious order and to
engage as professional soldiers in a permanent religious war, but also
in religious and charitable activities. As religious orders, these associations
usually need the approval of the Pope, and fall to some degree under his
authority.

Lesser-known orders in the Middle East, the Iberic peninsula and Eastern
Europe include :

the Sword, founded by Guy of Lusignan, king of Cyprus, in 1192,
disappeared with the conquest of Cyprus by the Turks in 1571,

Saint Blasius in Armenia (13th c.-15th c.),

Saint-John and Saint-Thomas in the Middle East (1254),

Saint Thomas of Acre founded as a military order by Peter des
Roches, bishop of Westminster, in 1228,

Mountjoy later known as Holy Redeemer and Montfragüe,
founded in 1175 and merged with Calatrava in 1221,

Our-Lady of the Rosary in 1209 by the archbishop of Toledo,
soon extinct

Our-Lady-of-Mercy in 1233 in Aragon, played a part in the conquests
of Valencia and Majorca but became a purely religious order in the 14th
century,

Sant-Jordi d'Alfama by the king of Aragon in 1201 (merged with
Montesa in 1399),

Concord in the 1240s by Ferdinand III of Castile, disappeared
after his death in 1252,

Saint-James of the Sword, an offshot of the Spanish order in
Portugal in 1275,

the Sword-Brethren, created in 1197 by a citizen of Bremen,
soon militarized by the bishop of Riga, and merged in 1237 with the Teutonic
Order.

After 1291: The Orders look for new missions

A major change occurred in 1291, when Acre, the last Crusader stronghold
in Palestine, fell to the Arabs. The remaining orders of chivalry had to
find a new raison d'être, since the Holy Land was lost with
little hope of regaining it. Some orders managed the transition skillfully:
the Teutonic Knights, who had already settled in Eastern Europe and absorbed
the native Order of the Sword-Brethren, transferred all of their activities
to Eastern Europe, where they engaged in colonization of still-pagan areas
in Poland and the Baltic, and later in fighting against Orthodox Russia
(and even Catholic Poland). The Order of Saint-John
conquered Rhodes in the early 1300s and transformed itself into a naval
power, pursuing the fight against Arabs and later Turks. Remnants of other
orders found refuge in Rhodes under the protection of the Order of Saint-John.

The Templars, which, by virtue of their vast network of fund-collecting,
had become bankers of sorts, resisted attempts at a merger with the Order
of Saint-John, a project the Pope and other rulers insisted on to better
marshal resources for new crusades. Impatient with this resistance, irritated
at the disorder and lack of morality which prevailed in the order, and
probably mindful of the Temple's riches, the King of France arrested the
Templars, had them tried on trumped-up charges, and coerced the Pope into
pronouncing the dissolution of their order (1312). The Order of Saint-John
became the recipient of the Templars' estates. Two offshoots of the Templars
survived in the form of new Orders: the Order of Christ in Portugal (1318)
and the Order of Montesa in Spain (1319). Since the 18th century, many
other groups have sprung up claiming a filiation with the Templars.

1335 to 1470: The Monarchical Orders of Chivalry

A new generation of orders

As the Crusades became a thing of the past (the last one floundering
in 1271), they became romanticized, just as chivalry itself. The aura of
orders of chivalry was being actively maintained by the exploits of the
Knights of Saint-John ruling their kingdom of Rhodes and fighting the Turks;
but most of all by the popularity of the Arthurian novels, international
bestsellers of the time, detailing the glorious deeds of the Knights of
the Round Table. Indeed, the knights of Saint-John, alone in their kingdom
of Cyprus and fighting the nearby Infidels, seemed to many to be the epitome
of the Arthurian myth. The emergence of this myth, that of a group of loyal
knights devoted to a monarch did not take place in a vacuum of by accident.
The 13th and 14th centuries saw the end of feudalism and the emergence
of what would become the nation-states of modern Europe, centered on increasingly
powerful monarchs. However, the glue of the feudal system, personal fealty
to one's immediate superior in the hierarchy, needed a substitute. Until
such time as the concept of absolute monarchy became fully developed, monarchs
seized on the concept of orders of chivalry. They thus created institutions
which recycled some of the trappings of the original orders of chivalry,
but with the aim to create a close-knit and devoted circle of noblemen
around the person of the sovereign. These were the monarchical orders
of chivalry.

These were not the only associations to be called, either at the time
or later, "orders of chivalry". The second generation of orders
of chivalry, which might be collectively called lay orders of knighthood,
included a wide variety of institutions and associations.

It should be noted that, at the time, lay devotional confraternities
were quite common: these were lay institutions which grouped members for
devotional activities, met regularly, and had some form of statutes. One
might think of them as the medieval (and religious) equivalent of clubs.
Also, princes and lords made a common use in the 14th century of badges
and liveries which they distributed to their servants but also to their
followers. The fact that some confraternities, and some orders of knighthood,
also began using insignia and outer marks of membership results in a great
deal of confusion.

D'Arcy Boulton (1987) has proposed a classification of these associations:

Monarchical Orders: organizations loosely modeled on lay devotional
confraternities, but whose presidential office (and the control of membership)
was attached to a crown or dominion, and whose main purpose was to foster
loyalty to the president (Garter, Golden Fleece).

Confraternal Orders: these are like the first kind, but with
an elective presidence and cooptive membership. Boulton further distinguishes
two classes:

Princely Orders founded by princes. Most were created after
the Golden Fleece in 1430. These are similar to the monarchical orders,
but the presidency was not hereditary.

Order of Saint George, founded by Charles I of Hungary in 1325-6,

Order of Saint Catherine, founded ca. 1335 by Humbert, Dauphin du Viennois,

Order of St. Anthony, founded in 1384 by Albrecht I of Bavaria (although
this order may not have been knightly).

Society of the Eagle, founded by Albrecht von Habsburg in 1433,

Selschapp unnser Liuen Frowen (Society of Our Lady, a.k.a. Order
of the Swan, founded in 1440 by Friedrich II of Brandenburg,

St. Hubertus Orden (Order of Saint Hubert), founded in 1444
by Gerhard V of Jülich and Berg,

Ordre du Croissant (Order of the Crescent), founded by René
d'Anjou in 1448,

Society of St. Jerome, founded in 1450 by Friedrich II of Wettin, Elector
of Saxony.

Baronial Orders which were like aristocratic versions of the
professional guilds of the time. Examples:

Order of Saint-Hubert, in Barrois, 1422

Noble Order of Saint George of Rougemont, Franche-Comté, 1440

Fraternal Orders: these were a form of brotherhood-in-arms,
formed for a specific purpose and a limited duration, binding members with
pledges of aid an loyalty. They are similar to the emprises of the
time, and distinguished by the use of the name "order" and of
insignia. Only four are known:

Compagnie of the Black Swan, created by 3 princes and 11 knights
in Savoy in 1350,

Corps et Ordre du Tiercelet (a kind of falcon), founded by the
vicomte de Thouars and 17 barons in Poitou between 1377 and 1385,

Ourdre de la Pomme d'Or founded by 14 knights in Auvergne in
1394,

Alliance et Compagnie du Levrier founded by 44 knights in the
Barrois in 1416 for 5 years, converted into a Confraternal order of Saint-Hubert
in 1422.

Votive Orders: these were a form of emprise or association
formed for a specific purpose and for a definite term, on the basis of
a vow (hence the term votive); these were chivalric games, without the
mutual pledges which characterized fraternal orders. Only three are known,
on the basis of their statutes:

Emprise de l'Escu vert à la Dame Blanche (Enterprise
of the green shield with the white lady), created in 1399 by Jean le Maingre
dit Boucicaut and 12 knights for 5 years,

Emprise du Fer de Prisonnier (Enterprise of the Prisoner's Iron)
undertaken by Jean de Bourbon and 16 knights for 2 years in 1415,

Enterprise of the Dragon, undertaken by Jean comte de Foix for 1 year.

The Cliental Pseudo-Orders: these were not really orders in
that they had no statutes, no limited membership, etc. They were a group
bound by a simple oath of allegiance to a prince who bestowed a badge or
insignia. These were in fact glorified retinues, misnamed orders, which
makes them often confused with princely orders:

Ordre de la Cosse de Genêt (Order of the Broom-Pod), founded
by Charles VI of France ca. 1388,

Order of the camail or Porcupine, created by Louis d'Orléans
in 1394,

Order of the Dove, Castile, 1390,

Order of the Scale of Castile, ca. 1430,

Order of the Thistle of Scotland.

Honorific Pseudo-Orders: these bodies of knights required no
specific obligations, and were usually just an honorific insignia bestowed
with knighthood, upon a festive occasion or a pilgrimage. They consisted
of nothing else than the badge:

Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, bestowed by the custodian of the Holy
Sepulchre to knights who made the pilgrimage, starting in the 15th century.
It was formally organized into an order of merit by the Pope in 1868.

Knights of St. Catherine of Mount-Sinai, bestowed in similar conditions
from the 12th to the 15th century.

Order of the Golden Spur, a papal order, many times reformed.

Knights of the Bath, in England. The name was used again for an order
of merit created in 1725.

Boulton's classification allows us to concentrate on the most complex,
long-lived and influential of these associations, the monarchical orders
of chivalry. The first example is perhaps the Order of Saint-George
founded in 1325 by Charles I of Hungary. Although its statutes did not
define a hereditary presidency, it was clearly intended to function as
a monarchical order. another is the Order of the Sash (Banda) founded
in Castile by Alfonso XI in 1330. Alfonso XI in 1330, which probably lost
its formal character in the 1360s and, by 1416, was merely a device or
insignia, persisting until the 1470s. The English king Edward III formed
the Order of the Garter, in 1344, the best known of its kind. The
French Ordre de l'Étoile (Order of the Star) soon followed
in 1351.

Other monarchs or powerful lords followed suit. Here is a partial list
of these orders:

Saint-George, Hungary (1325-95?),

Sash or Band, Castile (1330-1474?),

Garter, England (1344-present),

Star, France (1351-64?),

Knot, Naples (1352-62?),

Collar or Annunziata in Savoie (1362-present),

Tress, Austria (1365-95?),

Golden Shield, founded by Louis de Bourbon (1367-1410?),

Saint George, Aragon (1371-1410?)

Ermine, Brittany (1381-1522),

Ship, Naples (1381-6?),

Salamander, Austria (1390-1463?),

Jar, Aragon (1403-1516),

Dragon (Renversé), Hungary (1408-93),

Golden Fleece in Burgundy (1430-present),

Eagle, Austria (1433-93)

Saint Maurice, Savoie (1434),

Elephant, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1457?-1523?), later revived

Ermine, Naples (1465-94),

Saint-Michel, France (1469-1791).

In the above list, the character of some orders is difficult to ascertain
because of the lack of documentation, and the boundary between monarchical
and princely orders is not very sharp.

In fact, Boulton's classification has been criticized as too rigid and
detailed. In Germany, in particular, there were dozens of noble associations
in the Middle Ages which combined various characteristics which span Boulton's
categories (see Kruse, Paravicini, Ranft 1991).
ein systematisches Verzeichnis, Frankfurt am Main ; P. Lang 1991).
The main lesson to be drawn from such studies include:

In the 14th and 15th centuries, a large variety of associations of
noblemen and/or knights appeared, which were then or later called "orders"
or "orders of chivalry".

These associations span a whole gamut of arrangements, from rigidly
controlled institutions with detailed statutes to informal associations
limited in time. A number were created by or organized around kings or
powerful feudal lords, while others were private initiatives. Their objectives
varied: some were designed to honor recipients as well as bind them
to an individual or authority, others were formed for a specific purpose,
military or devotional, limited or indefinite in time.

Almost all used some kind of badge, insignia, or protector saint by
which they were known. This common feature has led to the common denomination
of "order of chivalry", and the term "order of chivalry"
has thereby become confused and imprecise.

The last ones appear in the1460s, and a handful survive beyond the
1530s.

New wine in old bottles

These institutions were quite different in nature from the military-monastic
orders, yet they have been placed in the same category. The confusion was
of course voluntary, so that some of the prestige and fighting spirit of
the famous crusading orders might be acquired by these monarchical creations.
To this end, various outward elements of the military-monastic orders were
adapted. For example, the structure of the institutions were imitated,
by copying nomenclature of members and officers. Members were knights,
the head of the order (always the sovereign, whereas the military-monastic
orders typically elected their head) was the grand-master. Insignia were
developed, to be worn by members on their cloaks or in the form of badges,
suspended from collars or attached to vestments. This was a direct borrowing
from the military-monastic orders, but the insignia were not based on the
cross anymore, but on an emblem (garter, golden fleece) or the figure of
a patron saint (Saint Michael). Members met regularly in chapters where
matters pertaining to the order were discussed. The orders were placed
under the protection of a tutelary saint (in imitation of the devotion
of the order of Rhodes to Saint-John the Baptist), and regularly held religious
offices. The knights swore oaths of allegiance, but to the sovereign rather
than to the rule of the order, which was never monastic in nature. The
sovereign usually controlled the membership, at least to some degree. Occasionally,
a crusading spirit was explicitly invoked, as was the case originally for
the Golden Fleece (whose emblem recalled the quest of the Argonauts).

From chivalry to honorific

As time went by, many of these orders simply disappeared precisely because
they had been too closely tied to their founder, or because of political
changes such as the absorption of the founder's domains in a kingdom. Those
orders that did survive (in 1525, only four orders survived: Garter in
England, Annunziata in Savoy, Golden Fleece in Spain and Saint-Michel in
France) began to change in nature, because they had outlived their purpose.
With the 16th century, the monarchs' transition from powerful head of the
feudal pyramid to absolute ruler of a modern state was complete, and the
need for binding a restless nobility to the sovereign's person became less
pressing. In fact, there are no creations of monarchical orders between
1469 and 1578, due also to the fact that, by that time, most countries
had at least one such order in existence (and a number of dominions had
been united, obviating the need for different orders).

However, the prestige which still surrounded these monarchical orders
made them useful for other purposes, namely honoring individuals or rewarding good
behavior. As a sign of this changing functions, some of the elements borrowed
from military-monastic orders were abandoned; for example, the Order of
the Golden Fleece held its last chapter in 1555. Restriction of membership
to the knightly class became meaningless as the knightly class itself had
already evolved from a professional class to a hereditary caste (on the
Continent; interestingly, this did not happen in England, and membership
in the knightly class by itself became a reward granted by the sovereign
to individuals who had no military training, starting in the 15th century).

For some of the old military-monastic orders, the transition was at
times abrupt. The Spanish orders, which had lost their primary purpose
with the end of the Reconquista in 1492, were quickly brought under royal
control, each time with papal assent (Santiago in 1476, Alcantara in 1474,
Calatrava in 1489, Avis in 1550, Christ in 1551, Montesa in 1587). Some
orders (Alcantara, Calatrava) were relieved of their vow of chastity. Similarly,
the Pope approved the merger of the Order of Saint-Lazarus with Savoie's
order of Saint-Maurice in 1572. This merger was effected only in Italy,
however, and the remaining estates of the order in France were joined with
the newly created Order of Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel in 1608. The Pope
accepted the transfer of assets but never recognized the Grand Master of
the new order as "Grand Master of Saint Lazarus". The French
king never made himself Grand Master of the order, but did keep a close
eye on it, making himself "protector" in 1757 and appointing
the Grand Master himself.

Thus, when a military-monastic order had estates over several countries,
the fate of various parts diverged. The Teutonic Order was all at once
secularized by the Elector of Brandenburg in 1525, who, embracing Lutheranism,
dispensed with papal assent. In England, Henry VIII simply confiscated
the assets of the Order of Saint-John without any pretence of perpetuating
the order. Restored by Mary in 1557, it was finally abolished in England
in 1560. But in German lands, the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order
of Saint-John had already acquired a degree of autonomy, and some of its
priories decided of their own movement to follow the local movement and
embrace Protestantism. The situation was settled by the Treaty of Augsburg
in 1648, and the Evangelical Order of Saint-John or Johanniter
Order emerged with Hohenzollerns as Grand Masters, retaining some of
its religious nature. It has subsisted to this day (with an interlude from
1812 to 1852).

The transition from monarchical order to honorific orders proved disastrous
in some cases: the Order of Saint-Michel in France was quickly devalued
by being handed out too generously, and lost all prestige within 100 years
of existence. It was replaced in its role as premier French order by the
Saint-Esprit in 1578, with a numerus clausus of 100. This order
was the first purely political order; only its strict nobiliary requirements
distinguished it from the next generation of orders. Its insignia broke
with the tradition of monarchical orders, and set a precedent, by borrowing
from the Order of Saint-John (now Malta) and using a Maltese cross, albeit
with a dove (to represent the Holy Ghost) in the middle. This use of the
Maltese cross would be much imitated (Saint-Louis, Bath, etc). Also, the
Saint-Esprit used distinctively colored blue ribbons and sashes; again
in imitation of the Order of Malta, and again repeated by many later honorific
orders.

1560 to present: Honorific Orders

New orders soon multiplied throughout Europe, to serve the new purpose
devolved on some of the old military-monastic orders or the more recent
monarchical orders. In reality, they were honorific orders,
designed either as a reward for past services to the
sovereign, or as a way to confer prestige and distinction, and entailing no
real commitment to any course of action, or any loyalty to the sovereign
beyond what was required of any ordinary subject. In this fundamental
respect, they were different from earlier orders, whose possibly honorific
character derived from their history and activities, but was not
the raison d'être. In the case of orders without nobiliary
requirements, the distinction between an "order" and a decoration,
especially for 20th century creations, becomes almost arbitrary.

Some of the orders maintained
nobiliary requirements and limited membership (Saint-Esprit in France,
Black Eagle in Prussia, Saint-Andrew in Russia, Passion in Saxony, San
Gennaro in Sicily). But many orders followed a pattern set by Louis XIV
when he created the Order of Saint-Louis, with a Maltese cross and
red ribbon and sashes; he also imitated Maltese nomenclature with three
ranks: grand-cross, commander and knight. These ranks would be imitated
by many later orders. The Order of Saint-Louis was awarded for military
merit; it had no nobiliary requirement, no limited membership, no chapter,
no mandatory activities, etc. Although it was considered and called an
order of chivalry at the time, it was already a new breed of order.

Many such orders were created in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the
following list can only be very partial (an asterisk marks those who were
knightly, or more exactly nobiliary orders):

* San Stefano in Tuscany (1561),

* Saint-Esprit in France (1578),

* Mont-Carmel in France (1607),

* Precious Blood in Mantua (1608),

* Amarantha in Sweden (1645),

* Constantinian Order of Saint-George in Parma (1669-present),

Dannebrog in Denmark (1671, statutes in 1693; 4 ranks in 1808),

Generosity in Brandenburg (1685; becomes Merit in 1740),

* Thistle in Scotland (1687),

* Elephant in Denmark (1693; revival),

Saint-Louis in France (1693; 3 ranks),

* Saint Michael in Bavaria (1693),

* Saint Andrew in Russia (1698),

* Black Eagle in Prussia (1701),

* Hunt in Württemberg (1702),

* Noble Passion in Saxony-Weissenfels (1704),

* Saint Hubert in Bavaria (1708),

Eagle of Saint-Michael in Portugal (1711),

White Eagle in Poland (1713),

Fidelity in Baden (1715),

Bath in Great-Britain (1725; 3 classes in 1815),

Saint Alexander in Russia (1725),

Saint George in Bavaria (1729; 6 ranks),

* San Gennaro in Sicily (1738),

* Seraphim in Sweden (1748),

North Star in Sweden (1748; 4 ranks),

Sword in Sweden (1748; 5 ranks),

Maria Theresa in Austria (1758; 3 ranks),

Military Merit in France (1759; 3 ranks),

Military Merit in Württemberg (1759; 3 ranks),

Charles III in Spain (1771; 5 ranks),

Vasa in Sweden (1772; 3 ranks),

Saint-George in Russia (1769; 4 ranks),

Red Eagle in Prussia (1790; 5 ranks),

Tower and Sword in Portugal (1808)

This list covers a wide variety of orders, from pure merit orders like
the Order of Saint-Louis to orders which retained more closely the trappings
of the monarchical orders of old (Saint-Esprit, San Gennaro, Constantinian
Order); but these differences remain small when monarchical orders themselves
changed as feudalism gave way to absolutism. Santo Stefano is rather unique,
in that it imposed substantial obligations on its members, and engaged
in naval activities against piracy in the Mediterranean.

Some of the more exclusive orders often claimed to be (sometimes accurately)
merely revivals of older orders: thus the Dannebrog was allegedly founded
in 1219, the Polish Eagle in 1325, the Tower and Sword in 1452, the Thistle
in 1451, the Elephant in 1462, the Seraphim in 1334, the Bath in 1399.
The Constantinian Order of Saint-George claimed to have been founded by
Constantine in 312! (see some interesting
remarks by James Algrant on the true origin of this order).
The aim was again to let some of the prestige of the
older monarchical orders rub off on this new generation of honorific orders.
In other cases, such as the Piemontese order of
Saint-Maurice and Saint-Lazarus,
transformed into a 5-rank order in 1814, or the Order of Notre-Dame du
Mont-Carmel and Saint-Lazare in France, or the old Spanish orders, remnants
of military-monastic orders were transformed into modern-style honorific orders,
with or without nobiliary requirements. Usually, their estates ceased
to support any independent activity of the order, and merely became added
revenues for the king's treasury or a source of perks for recipients of
the king's favors (although the French order of Saint Lazarus briefly engaged
in maritime activities similar to those of Malta and S. Stefano).

It is also interesting to note the trend towards democratizing older
orders by opening up their membership: after the 1720s, purely nobiliary
orders have become very rare. Another trend is discernible, that of naming
orders after the sovereign. The Order of Saint-Louis was a transparent
allusion to Louis XIV disguised as a religious dedication, but Maria-Theresa
was the first to be explicit; she was followed by Charles III, and in the
19th century by many sovereigns (queens in particular). By now, the religious
connotations of the orders have completely disappeared, and the name and
profile of the sovereign replaces saints and religious emblems on the insignia.

The 19th century witnessed a lot of political turmoil, and the development
of new forms of government, from military dictatures (Napoleon Bonaparte)
to constitutional monarchies and democratic republics. Yet all governments
felt the need to maintain or imitate honorific orders, and the habit has
spread to non-Western countries and, in the 20th century, to Communist
countries as well. It was rather ironic to see a regime such as that of
the Soviet Union award something called the Order of Lenin, where
the link with the military-monastic orders of 12th century Jerusalem is
tenuous at best: yet these modern institutions are still called Orders...

The Fate of the Original Military-Monastic Orders

What became of the original military-monastic orders?

The Order of Saint-John (Malta) lost its
territorial sovereignty in 1798. Since then, it has retained its statutes
(although massively expanding membership in recently created categories)
and is dedicated to medical and charitable activities. As a subject of
international law, the order enjoys recognition from a number of countries
and institutions.

The Templars were abolished in 1312.

The Teutonic Knights abandoned their status
as order of chivalry in 1929 and became a simple religious order instead.

The Order of Saint-Lazarus split into two branches, one obeying papal
orders and merging with the Savoyard order of Saint-Maurice in 1572, the
other falling under the protection of the French crown in 1608 and merging
with Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel. It was abolished by Louis XVI in July 1791
and not revived when the monarchy was restored in 1814. Currently, an
organization
claims to be the Order of Saint-Lazarus. The Savoyard order was an
Italian state order from 1860 to 1946, at which date it ceased to be
conferred in Italy; the heir to the Italian royal dynasty continues
to confer it, see that order's website.

The Portuguese orders (Avis, Santiago, Christ) were all secularized
in 1789, and remained as national orders. Abolished at the fall of the
monarchy in 1910, they were recreated as national orders in 1918. Avis
currently rewards military services, Christ rewards civilians and foreigners,
and Santiago rewards accomplishments in arts and sciences.

The Spanish orders (Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara, Montesa), secularized
in the late 15th and 16th centuries, briefly abolished in 1873-74, were
abolished in Spanish law in 1934, although this had no effect in canon
(Church) law. Their activities were unofficially revived in 1978, and king
Juan Carlos I is their Grand Master (a title first used by Alfonso XIII in
1916) and Perpetual Administrator on behalf of the Holy See. They are thus
dynastic orders of the royal house of Spain but not Spanish state orders.